Article: Giant Water District prepares to retire one-third of its Farmland. (Environment Watch).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

To critics of state and federal water policy in the California, the Westlands Water District symbolizes just about everything that could possibly go wrong with public management of this precious resource. But an $800 million deal that could retire one-third of the farmland in the huge water district might lay to rest one of the most vexing problems associated with Westlands while also ushering in a new era in Western water and land-use practices.

Encompassing 604,000 acres on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, Westlands occupies a 70-mile-long strip paralleling Interstate 5 from Mendota on the north to Kettleman City on the south. The district receives only ...